Former TV Anchor Announces Georgia Congressional Run

He first may have to face Jon Ossoff, who raised $30 million and still managed to lose the special election to Republican Karen Handel.

By NTK Staff | 10.09.2017 @11:33am

Democrat Bobby Kaple announced Monday he’s running for Congress in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District. A former television news anchor, Kaple stepped down from the “CBS46 early morning and noon shows” in mid-September to prep for his political campaign.

Kaple, 34, is only four years older than Jon Ossoff, the Democrat who raised $30 million and lost in a special election to now-Rep. Karen Handel (R-GA). That race, at roughly $60 million raised, broke fundraising records for a single Congressional race.

Ossoff has been coy about running again, not yet announcing his intentions either way:

Ossoff’s deliberation has also frozen the Democratic field – until Monday. Kaple said he told Ossoff last week about his candidacy, and said he’s not turning back even if Ossoff jumps in the race.

“I voted for Jon Ossoff. I was proud to see him step up and run. But this is a different election and I’m a different candidate,” said Kaple, adding: “I’m in no matter what.”

The Atlanta Journal Constitutionasked Kaple about his fundraising plan and whether he may be able to self-fund a campaign, but he declined to elaborate.

Another TV anchor-turned-congressman in Florida, Trey Radel, resigned in disgraced in 2014 after federal agents trapped him in a sting operation. Radel, 37 at the time, purchased cocaine from an undercover agent at a Washington, D.C. restaurant.